The following discussion of the background to the invention is intended to facilitate an understanding of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
Most scissors have a closed condition in which the back edge of the blades of the scissors projects beyond the cutting edge of the other cutting blade of the scissors. The cutting edge is therefore not exposed, protecting the blade against damage and users from accidentally contacting the sharp cutting edge of the blade. However, scissors of this configuration are difficult to sharpen, as the blades must be physically separated and sharpened individually.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,279,076 and 4,348,809 provide an alternate scissor construction and associated sharpening arrangement which permits the two blades to be sharpened simultaneously while the scissors are in a closed condition. Each of the blades of the scissors has a cutting edge and a back edge which respectively form opposite longitudinal edges of the blade. In the closed condition of the scissors, the cutting edge of each blade is level with or projects beyond the back edge of the other the blade. The blades can therefore be sharpened simultaneously using a sharpening arrangement having two opposing sharpener units that sharpen the cutting edge of each blade when the blades pass between the sharpener units. However, this arrangement can lead to users accidentally contacting the sharp surface of the cutting edge of the blade when the scissors are in the closed condition.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an alternate scissors configuration which each blade can be sharpened simultaneously but also substantially protects a user from accidentally contacting the sharp surface of the cutting edge of the blade when the scissors are in a closed condition.